My Sister's Neighborhood in May

Spring was very late in Chicago this year, so when I visited recently on one of the first

warm days, every tree, bush, and flower had just burst into bloom.  My sister lives on the

North Side of Chicago and these are some pictures I took one day.  Flowering Crabapples

in white, pink, and magenta were all over and in full bloom.  As you can see, not a single

petal has fallen from this white crabapple in front of my sister's house.

Flowering crabapples were all over the neighborhood and along the streets.

A closer look is almost blinding, with the profusion of white blossoms.

The top of a white crabapple.

A cluster of white crabapple blossoms.

Besides te crabapples, the

Besides the crabapples, the lilac bushes were also in bloom.  Lilacs come in French and

Japanese varieties, and in white, pink, lavender, and deep purple.  Their aroma can be

enjoyed from a block away.

Lilac bushes are often used along property lines, especially along the alleys in Chicago.

So I walked through the alleys and got many of these pictures.

Clusters of light purple lilacs.

Clusters of orchid-colored lilacs.

A full cluster of pale pink lilacs.

Several clusters of pale pink lilacs.

This is a lovely magenta colored flowering crabapple a block from my sister's house.

I had one like this outside my bedroom window when I lived up north.

A cluster of pink flowering crabapple blossoms.

A pink flowering crabapple tree.

Pink Crabapple blossoms.

Every cm of every branch was covered with blossoms at their peak.

"Bee Alive" Early Bidens and "Red African Daisies"

"Little Beauty" Narcissus

Azaleas and rhododendrons can now be found all over northern cities like Chicago.

Although these are basically Southern flowers, the U of Minnesota and a couple of

other centers have developed varieties which can take severe winter cold.

This is a white rhododendron at the house next to my sister's.

And the house on the other side had these splendid azaleas..  These flowers are four

inches in diameter and a beautiful orchid color.

A branch of orchid colored azaleas.

A colorful flower pot on the steps of a house.

An azalea bush four houses down the street.

Azaleas.

Lilac trees can become very tall if you don't prune them regularly.  This is a quite tall

white lilac bush.

Clusters of white lilacs.

These are deep purple French lilacs and have perhaps the strongest perfume of all.

Magnolia trees also flourish in the city.  This was a large, perhaps 30 foot high,

magnolia tree covered with hundreds of large waxy white flowers. 

White Magnolia Blossom

Down the street is the Korean Senior Citizens Center, and it was completely

surrounded by glorious Compact Korean Rhododendrons.  I have never seen them

so thick and colorful.

Close-up of the Compact Korean Rhododendrons.

Bush of Compact Korean Rhododendrons.

Viburnum / Snowball bushes were everywhere, covered in clusters of snowballs /

blossoms.

A close-up shows the flowers, but also explains why they are nicknamed the

"Snowball Bush."

Many kinds of tulips were also planted as accents around houses.  This was a lovely

combination of white and pink tulips alongside the driveway.

Yellow Taper tulips were by a mailbox.

Beautiful pink and white tulips were by the sidewalk.

Red and Yellow Striped tulips were in front of a house.

A visitor with some large pots of tulips and violas.

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